Radio România Internațional

Tag: war

May 6, 2022 UPDATE

TOUR The first lady of the United States, Jill
Biden, has arrived in Romania, the first leg of a European tour, which will
also take her to Slovakia. The plane carrying her landed at the Mihail
Kogalniceanu airbase in south-eastern Romania, where Jill Biden will be meeting
the US troops stationed there. On Saturday, when America celebrates Mother’s
Day, Jill Biden will be visiting Ukrainian mothers and children who had to flee
their country because of the war as well as aid workers and teachers who are
helping these children to get integrated into a stable and safe school
environment. Jill Biden will be meeting members of the Romanian government in
Bucharest, too.

GRANTS The government in Bucharest on Friday approved 60 million Euros
in grants to four fields of the economy, such as the food industry,
acquaculture, fish farming and agriculture – the Minister of Investment and
European Projects, Marcel Bolos has announced. 5 thousand euros are to be
granted to small enterprises, natural persons, authorised natural persons,
family and individual enterprises doing businesses in the aforementioned
fields. The total budget for this measure is around 50 million euros and will
have over 10 thousand beneficiaries. The second measure is represented by the
grants for working capital with a budget of 250 million euros. Grants of 15% of
the turnover will be given to small and medium-sized enterprises, though they
are not to exceed 120 thousand euros. The number of beneficiaries has been
estimated at ten thousand.

REFUGEES Over 860 thousand Ukrainian nationals
have entered Romania since the Russian invasion of their country, which began
on February 24. According to data released by the Border Police Inspectorate,
since the onset of the invasion until Thursday at 24 hours, 866,916 Ukrainian
citizens entered Romania. Since February 10th, before the beginning of the
conflict, 901,445 Ukrainians have entered Romania.

SURVEY A flash Eurobarometer survey carried out in all EU
member states shows the vast majority of EU citizens approve of Brussels’
response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and believe that Ukraine is part of the
European family. Romanians also believe that the EU has shown solidarity with
Ukraine, with 82% saying they are pleased with the response of their fellow
nationals.

VISIT The situation in Ukraine was high on the agenda of the formal
talks the presidents of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda
held on Friday. Iohannis said that Romania supports the consolidation of the
set of actions against Russia adding the only acceptable alternative must have
as a result the restauration of the territorial integrity of the neighboring
Ukraine. On the other hand, Iohannis announced that Romania would be hosting in
Bucharest jointly with Germany and France the second edition of the support
platform for the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova and invited
Lithuania to get involved. In turn, the Lithuanian president underlined the
importance of the Romanian-Lithuanian cooperation for strengthening NATO’s eastern
flank. Lithuania would continue to offer support to Ukraine and its refugees,
Nauseda said adding that on Saturday he would be visiting the Republic of
Moldova, the country who received the largest number of refugees in relation to
its population. During a phone call with the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu
on Friday, Iohannis reiterated Romania’s full solidarity with the Republic of
Moldova. The two officials revised new assistance options, which Bucharest can
continue to offer in all aspects of this crisis.

(bill)

6 May 2022
May 2, 2022

Visit — The First Lady of the US, Jill Biden, will pay a visit to Romania and Slovakia, between May 5-9. The wife of President Joe Biden will meet on May 6 with American soldiers from the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base (southeastern Romania), after which she will head to Bucharest, where she will meet with Romanian government officials, with members of the US embassy, with humanitarian workers and teachers working with Ukrainian refugee children. According to a statement from the First Ladys office quoted by Reuters, on Sunday, marked in the United States as Mothers Day, Jill Biden will meet with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to leave their homes because of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Jill Bidens visit is the latest signal of support from high-ranking US officials for Ukraine and its neighbors that are helping the Ukrainian refugees. The number of Ukrainian refugees stands currently at about 5.5 million, according to UN figures.

Energy — The EU energy ministers are meeting urgently today as the bloc is looking into ways to respond to a request from Russian President Vladimir Putin that European countries pay for gas in the Russian currency. Last week Russia stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after the two EU member states refused to pay for gas in rubles. According to news agencies, the European ministers will consider the gradual introduction of a ban on oil imports from Russia, and by the end of the year, the EU is to give up Russian oil permanently. No final decisions have been made in this regard and there may still be opposition from some member states.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep meets, today, the American Cori Gauff in the Round of 16 of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Madrid, which has total prizes of 6,575,560 Euros. The Romanian tennis player has won both games played so far against Gauff. Simona Halep was a champion in Madrid in 2016 and 2017, and a finalist in another two editions.

Ukraine — In Ukraine, more than 100 civilians, women and children, have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Some of them are expected to arrive in Zaporozhe today, a city controlled by the Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said. The UN and the Red Cross were involved in the evacuation operation, which began on Saturday morning. However, hundreds of civilians are still in the plants bunkers. Besides the civilians there are the last remaining Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol, a city largely destroyed in the two months of Russian attacks. According to the CNN, after the evacuation operation ended, the Russian forces resumed bombings on the plant. The bombing continued in the area of the Kharkov city, the second largest one in Ukraine, but in the same region the Ukrainian forces managed to recapture four villages. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Intelligence Service announced that it had neutralized a Russian investigation and sabotage team that allegedly tried to steal a Stinger rocket to shoot down a passenger plane over Russia or Belarus, in order to later blame the attack on Ukraine. The information was confirmed by an adviser to President Zelensky, who also added that a Russian spy had been discovered in the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army. Kyiv is the only source of this information in this respect so far.

Cyber attack — A cyber attack affected, last night, the website of the most important airport in Romania, Bucharest Otopeni. The site subsequently became operational again. The Special Telecommunications Service has blocked, in recent days, thousands of such attacks launched on the websites of some important institutions in Romania by the pro-Russian group Killnet. The group has also attacked websites of state institutions in neighboring Moldova and in EU and NATO countries. In response to the Russian hackers’ attacks, the Anonymous Romania group announced that it had attacked and blocked the site of the unified public procurement system in Russia, which had been out of order for two days.

Immigrants – The number of Ukrainian citizens who entered Romania on Sunday decreased by 27.6% compared to the previous day, according to a communiqué of the Border Police General Inspectorate. On Sunday, at national level, 107,432 people entered Romania through the border crossings, of whom 7,648 were Ukrainian citizens. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about 836 thousand Ukrainians have entered Romania, most of them transiting to other countries.

Statistics – In Romania, the unemployment rate stood at 5.7% in March, slightly higher than in the previous month, show data published on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics. The estimated number of unemployed for March was 475,000, up by 7,000 persons from February, but down from 11,000 persons as compared to March 2021. By gender, the unemployment rate for women was 0.1% higher than the rate for men (the respective values being 5.8% for women and 5.7% for men). The unemployment rate level among young people remains high, standing at 22%, according to INS. On the other hand, the 3-month ROBOR index, based on which the cost of consumer loans in lei with variable interest rate is calculated, rose on Monday to 5.01% per year, from 4.95% on Friday, as shown by data published by the National Bank of Romania. A higher level than that was recorded on April 3, 2013, when it stood at 5.03% per year. (LS)

2 May 2022
April 29, 2022

VISIT The PM of Bulgaria Kiril
Petkov is on a working visit to Romania today. He will be received by president Klaus Iohannis and will also have talks
with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting with the European
Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, and
the signing of an agreement between the Romanian and Bulgarian governments
concerning the opening of the Giurgiu – Ruse ferryboat checkpoint. During the visit of the Bulgarian delegation,
the Romanian defence minister Vasile Dîncu will have talks with his Bulgarian
counterpart Dragomir Zakov.

PARLIAMENT The Speaker of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies, Marcel
Ciolacu, announced meetings in the forthcoming period between the leaders of
the parliaments of Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova. A meeting
may take place in Iaşi (eastern Romania), near the Moldovan border, he added.

ECONOMY The National Strategy and Forecast Commission revised its economic
growth estimate for this year from 4.3% predicted in winter down to 2.9% in its
latest report. According to the Commission, the reassessment was triggered by
the effects of the conflict in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, while
the new pandemic wave in China is also expected to deepen trade logjams,
especially in the automotive industry. The
Romanian central bank’s deputy governor Leonardo Badea also said, in a
specialised conference, that the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have
generated significant economic and fiscal problems.The IMF expects
Romania’s GDP to go up 2.2% this year, while the World Bank’s estimate is 2.9%.

CYBER ATTACKS Today’s cyber-attack on websites of Romanian public and
private institutions was claimed by a cyber-crime group called Killnet, the
National Cyber Security Directorate announced. A number of Distributed Denial
of Service (DDoS) attacks targeted websites belonging to the government,
defence ministry, border police, the passenger railway corporation CFR and OTP
Bank, and was claimed to be in response to Romania’s support of Ukraine in the
military conflict with Russia. Prague
also accused a pro-Russian hacker group of committing cyber-attacks against websites
run by the Czech public administration, hospitals and private entities on April 21.

VETERANS Several military ceremonies are held today
to mark the War Veterans Day in Romania. The defence minister Vasile Dîncu and
the chief of staff gen. Daniel Petrescu will attend the events at the Monument
of Heroes in Bucharest, while similar events will take place across the country
and abroad. Also today, defence ministry officials will have an informal
meeting in Bucharest with war veterans, children, students, and troops from
theatres of operations.

UKRAINE NATO warns that the West must be prepared
for a long-term conflict. Its deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană said that the
coming days and weeks may prove decisive, but that the war in Ukraine is likely
to last longer-perhaps months or even years, depending on many factors. Russia
carries on its offensive to get full control over the regions of Donetsk and
Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and to create a land corridor to Crimea, the
Ukrainian Army announced. Moscow also increased the number of drones flying
over Odessa region on aerial reconnaissance missions, while local officials say Russia disseminates fake news and
disinformation in an attempt to induce panic among the civilians in the region.

FESTIVAL The French Institute in Bucharest, jointly with Europavox,
organises a series of round tables, panel discussions and workshops entitled What’s
Next for European Music on May 4 and 5. The participants will look at the
music sector after the pandemic, opportunities in a new European framework,
current financing opportunities in the EU, the European culture in solidarity
with Ukraine, and digital communication in the context of the Covid-19
pandemic. The debates will be held in English. During the same period, artists
from 6 European countries will perform in Bucharest as part of the first
Europavox Festival edition held in Romania.

MAY
DAY The summer
season officially begins this weekend in Romania. Hotel owners expect nearly
30,000 tourists to spend May Day on the Black Sea coast. Data centralised by a
tour operator indicate that over 100 hospitality units are ready to receive
their guests, with the resorts of Mamaia and Costineşti in the highest demand. (AMP)

29 April 2022
The Republic of Moldova’s European path

With an avowed pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, and with a presidential party, Action and Solidarity, which clearly dominates Parliament and holds all ministries, the Republic of Moldova seems, after three decades of oscillations between the East and the West, finally capable of permanently exiting Moscow’s orbit. As always, Romania is the most consistent and energetic advocate of Moldovas independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as of its aspirations for European integration. Created on a part of the Eastern Romanian territories annexed by the Stalinist Soviet Union in 1940, following an ultimatum, the Republic of Moldova declared its independence on August 27, 1991, after the failure of the neo-Bolshevik putsch in Moscow, targeting the last Soviet leader, the reformist Mikhail Gorbachev. On the same day, Romania became the first country in the world to recognize the statehood of its new neighbor.

Now, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are taking refuge in the Republic of Moldova fleeing the Russian troops who invaded their country, and when bizarre grenade explosions and attacks are raising fears of rekindling the frozen conflict in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniester (in the east), the parliamentary parties in Bucharest reiterate, in one voice, their support for the European path of Chișinău. A professional military, the Liberal Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is pleading for a very balanced analysis of the incidents in Transdniester, to avoid the deterioration of the security situation in the area, which is already fragile.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party – PSD (partner of the Liberals in the governing coalition) Marcel Ciolacu himself believes that the incidents in Tiraspol were an intimidation attempt and announces that a joint meeting of the leaderships of the Romania Senate and the Chamber of Deputies with the Moldovan MPs will take place in the next weeks. The Euro MP representing the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR (a junior partner in the governing coalition), Iuliu Winkler, recalls the applications for EU accession submitted by Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia and hopes that all these ex-Soviet states will officially become candidates for EU accession.

In opposition, Save Romania Union – USR deputy Dan Barna believes that the incidents in Tiraspol were just instigations which must be regarded with diplomatic wisdom, and the only chance for the stability of the Republic of Moldova is its EU accession, and that Romania, as a member state of both the EU and NATO, has the duty to support Moldovas European path. For the nationalist opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, says senator Sorin Lavric, the reunification of the Republic of Moldova with Romania is the only real security solution, given that the incidents in Transdniester are allegedly aimed at extending the war from Ukraine to that region. (LS)

29 April 2022
April 28, 2022

REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who crossed the border into Romania
went up 30% on Wednesday compared to the previous day, reads a news release
issued by the Romanian Border Police. As many as 8,635 Ukrainian citizens
entered Romania in 24 hours, coming from Ukraine or the R. of Moldova. Since
the start of the crisis over 2 months ago, over 800,000 Ukrainians have come
into Romania. Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced in a
conference in Geneva that over 8 million Ukrainian may leave their country.
According to the UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, the Agency and its partners
intend to raise USD 1.85 billion to support an estimated 8.3 million refugees
in Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as
in other countries in the region, including Belarus, Bulgaria and the Czech
Republic.

TROOPS The Romanian defence ministry announced
that the Romanian Army currently has no troops deployed in the Rep. of Moldova
to take part in drills or other joint training programmes. The statement comes
after a Russian-language publication released fake news according to which
Romania plans to attack Transnistria with NATO support, and then to
annex the Rep. of Moldova, and claimed that Romanian troops have already been
deployed to the neighbouring country. Disinformation on Russian channels
follows a number of attacks by unknown perpetrators, which took place in the
past few days in Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region in the east
of the Rep. of Moldova.

NATURAL GAS The European Union
told Russia it would not give in to blackmail, after Moscow discontinued
natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, which had refused to pay for
natural gas in rubles. The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
said the Union had other options to make up for the suspended deliveries, and
warned member states not to breach the sanctions imposed by the EU after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We have to guarantee alternative supplies and the
best possible storage levels across the EU, Von der Leyen explained. EU member
states have implemented emergency plans for such a scenario and we have worked
together in coordination and solidarity, the EU official added.

ARMY Military ceremonies, concerts and competitions take place in Bucharest
today to mark the Romanian Land Forces Day. Events are announced throughout the
day, including ceremonies, cultural, scientific and educational events, sports
competitions and military drills, book fairs, concerts and documentary
screenings. In Arad (west), a military equipment exhibition opens today on this
occasion, and on Saturday the city will host military and religious ceremonies.

COVID-19 Nearly 1,150 new SARS-CoV-2 infection cases were reported in Romania on
Thursday. The authorities have also reported 15 Covid-related deaths. Of the over
1,200 patients in hospitals, 193 are in intensive care, and most of them are
unvaccinated. Meanwhile, as interest in vaccination dropped significantly,
immunisation centres are closing these days across the country. Those who want
to get the vaccine will be able to do so only in family physician offices as of
May.

TENNIS The Romanians Simona Halep, Sorana Cîrstea and Irina Begu take part in
the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, which starts today.
Sorana Cîrstea takes on Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain (52 WTA). Simona Halep
plays against Shuai Zhang of China (40 WTA), and Irina Begu faces Belinda
Bencic (13 WTA) of Switzerland. WTA Madrid Open takes place between April 28
and May 7. Simona Halep won the 2016 and 2017 competitions. (AMP)

28 April 2022
Romanian – US talks

The international community has firmly condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, which triggered the most severe refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

It is precisely the fallout of this military aggression and the Allied efforts to manage it and to come up with an appropriate response that was in the focus of Mondays telephone talks between the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and the US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

The two officials discussed concrete ways to provide support to Ukraine, and a number of bilateral cooperation elements as part of the Romania – US Strategic Partnership. Bogdan Aurescu presented Bucharests assessments of the security developments on NATOs eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. He also detailed the complex measures taken by Romanian authorities to support neighbouring Ukraine at a political, logistic, and humanitarian level.

The Romanian diplomacy chief emphasised the importance of quickly implementing the decisions made at NATOs summit on March 24, particularly establishing as soon as possible the Romania battle group, as a first step in balancing and consolidating NATOs presence on the eastern flank in the long run.

On the other hand, he presented the needs of Romanias eastern neighbour, the Republic of Moldova, in handling the crisis entailed by Russias military aggression in Ukraine and strengthening this countrys resilience.

In turn, state secretary Antony Blinken thanked Romania on behalf of the US for the regional role that Bucharest has embraced and for the support given to Kyiv and other vulnerable partners in the region, including Chișinău. Moreover, Antony Blinken appreciated Romanias steadfast commitment, as a strategic partner of the USA and a reliable and trustworthy NATO Ally, to stability and security in the Black Sea region and at European and Euro-Atlantic level.

The US official also reaffirmed Washingtons full commitment to protecting the territories of Romania and of all Allied states, especially those in the frontline.

Also on Monday, the Romanian defence minister Vasile Dîncu talked over the phone with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, about security developments in the Black Sea region, in the context of the war in Ukraine, as well as about the stage of setting up the Allied battle group in Romania.

Vasile Dîncu thanked the US for the commitment and substantial contribution to ensuring security on NATOs eastern flank. Relocating the Stryker combat team, deploying F-16 and F-18 aircraft to reinforce air policing missions in Romania are just two concrete examples of a solid trans-Atlantic relationship. (AMP)

19 April 2022
No Russian ships in EU ports

Russian vessels are no longer allowed to enter ports in the EU, including Romania. The ban also applies to ships that have replaced the Russian flag with another countrys colours since February 24, when the war in Ukraine started, but not those who need assistance or refuge for safety reasons or those who have rescued lives at sea.

This is one of the EU sanctions against Russia which will be extended. The new measures will also target Russian banks, particularly Sberbank, as well as the oil sector, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told the German paper Bild am Sonntag, quoted by Reuters.

“We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37% of the Russian banking sector. And, of course, there are energy issues,” Ursula von der Leyen detailed. She explained the EU was working on clever mechanisms in order to include the oil sector in the next sanctions.

“What should not happen is that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin collects even higher prices on other markets for supplies that would otherwise go to the EU. The top priority is to shrink Putins revenues,” she emphasised.

Brussels has so far exempted Russias largest bank from the previous sanctions, because Sberbank and Gazprombank are the main payment channels for the oil and natural gas from Russia, which EU member countries continue to buy in spite of the invasion of Ukraine.

On the other hand, on Sunday the Union announced EUR 50 million would be earmarked for humanitarian aid to be sent to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.

“As heavy fighting and missile strikes continue to destroy critical civilian infrastructure, humanitarian needs in Ukraine remain extremely high,” reads an EU news release quoted by DPA.

Some EUR 45 million will go into humanitarian programmes in Ukraine, while the Republic of Moldova, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian nationals have taken refuge since the start of the war, is set to receive EUR 5 million.

The money is part of the EUR 1 billion package pledged by the European Commission in a donor conference last week, called Stand Up For Ukraine. So far, the EU said, EUR 143 million of this amount has already been spent in humanitarian aid funding in response to the war. The funding announced on Sunday will address the most pressing humanitarian needs by providing emergency medical services, access to safe drinking water and hygiene, shelter and protection, cash assistance, and support against gender-based violence. (AMP)

18 April 2022
April 17, 2022 UPDATE

EASTER Catholic and
Protestant Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. At the Vatican,
Pope Francis once again called for peace, describing Easter as the gift of hope
during the Mass held in a basilica with thousands of believers. On Sunday, the
service took place in San Pietro Square after 2 years of Covid-related
restrictions. For Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who celebrate Easter
next weekend, it was Palm Sunday, commemorating the moment when Jesus Christ
entered Jerusalem. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, nearly one and a half
million people celebrated their name day on Sunday. President Klaus Iohannis
wished happy and peaceful holidays to all those who celebrate Easter or Palm
Sunday.

UKRAINE As of midnight
Russian vessels are no longer allowed to enter EU ports, Romanian ports
included. The ban also covers ships that replaced the Russian flag with the
colours of another state after February 24 when the war in Ukraine started, but
not those which need assistance or shelter for safety reasons or those which
have saved lives at the sea. In an interview to Sunday’s issue of the German
magazine Bild am Sonntag, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen said the next stage of EU sanctions will target Russia’s oil and banking
sectors, particularly the country’s largest bank, Sberbank. She added that
Brussels was working on smart mechanisms to include Russian oil in the new list
of sanctions, so as to reduce the financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion army.
EU member states are currently paying for Russian gas and oil via Sberbank and
Gazprombank, which have so far been exempt from Europe’s sanctions, Reuters
explains. The EU announced on Sunday that EUR 50 million would be earmarked for
humanitarian aid to be sent to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Some EUR 45
million will go into humanitarian programmes in Ukraine, while the Republic of
Moldova, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have taken refuge since the
start of the war, is set to receive EUR 5 million.

REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who reached
Romania on Saturday was 12.4% higher than on the previous days, the Romanian
border police announced. Since the start of the crisis, over 730,000 Ukrainian
citizens have entered the country, most of them leaving Romania for other
destinations.

POLL The Church ranks first in a public confidence
poll in Romania. The survey conducted by CURS at the end of March indicates
that 67% of the respondents trust the Church, up 4% since January. The Army, on
the other hand, has lost 8% in the same survey. The most significant increase
in public confidence was reported for the National Bank of Romania, with 42% of
the respondents saying they trust the central bank, as opposed to half this
figure in January. The poll was commissioned by the National Liberal Party and
has a +/- 1.9% margin of error.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Ministry celebrates 25 years
since the Joint Statement on the Romania-Italy Strategic Partnership was
signed. The genuine friendship between the 2 countries is facilitated by the
presence of over 1 million Romanians in Italy, making up the largest foreign
community in that country and also the largest Romanian community abroad, reads
a news release issued by the institution.

NORTH KOREA North Korea announced
the successful test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting
the country’s nuclear capabilities, which may indicate that Pyongyang is ready
to resume nuclear testing. North Korea suspended nuclear testing in 2017, and
the following year it blew up the tunnels in its underground nuclear test site,
but recent satellite imagery indicates digging and construction activities have
been resumed.

INVICTUS A
group of 20 Romanian military wounded in battle fields are taking part in the
one-week long Invictus Games, hosted his year by The Hague in the Netherlands.
They will compete in 7 sports, 6 of them individual competitions (hand archery,
athletics, rowing, powerlifting, cycling
and swimming) and a team sport (sitting volleyball). The
Invictus Games promote respect and empathy for the sacrifice and traumas of
wounded military, whose involvement in these activities is an opportunity for
social reintegration and for regaining self-confidence, the Romanian Defence
Ministry says. For Romanian troops, this year’s Invictus participation is the
third, after the ones in Toronto, in 2017, and Sydney, one year later. (AMP)

17 April 2022
April 17, 2022

EASTER Catholic and
Protestant Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. At the
Vatican, Pope Francis once again called for peace, describing Easter as the
gift of hope during the Mass held in a basilica with thousands of believers.
Today, the service takes place in San Pietro Square after 2 years of
Covid-related restrictions. For Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who
celebrate Easter next weekend, today is Palm Sunday, commemorating the moment
when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country,
nearly one and a half million people are celebrating their name day. President
Klaus Iohannis wished happy and peaceful holidays to all those who celebrate
Easter or Palm Sunday today.

UKRAINE As of midnight
Russian vessels are no longer allowed to enter EU ports, Romanian ports
included. The ban also covers ships that replaced the Russian flag with the
colours of another state after February 24 when the war in Ukraine started, but
not those which need assistance or shelter for safety reasons or those which
have saved lives at the sea. In an interview to Sunday’s issue of the German
magazine Bild am Sonntag, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen said the next stage of EU sanctions will target Russia’s oil and banking
sectors, particularly the country’s largest bank, Sberbank. She added that
Brussels was working on smart mechanisms to include Russian oil in the new list
of sanctions, so as to reduce the financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion army.
EU member states are currently paying for Russian gas and oil via Sberbank and
Gazprombank, which have so far been exempt from Europe’s sanctions, Reuters
explains. Meanwhile, Russia carries on attacks on several cities in Ukraine,
including the capital Kyiv, in response to the sinking of its Black Sea
flagship, the Moskva. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in
Ukraine, Russian forces shelled several cities in the south of Ukraine, whereas
in Herson Ukrainian troops continue to attack the occupying Russian forces.

REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who reached
Romania on Saturday was 12.4% higher than on the previous days, the Romanian
border police announced. Since the start of the crisis, over 730,000 Ukrainian
citizens have entered the country, most of them leaving Romania for other
destinations.

INVICTUS A group of 20 Romanian military wounded in battle
fields are taking part in the one-week long Invictus Games, hosted his year by
The Hague in the Netherlands. They will compete in 7 sports, 6 of them
individual competitions (hand archery, athletics,
rowing, powerlifting, cycling and swimming) and a team sport (sitting volleyball). The Invictus Games promote respect
and empathy for the sacrifice and traumas of wounded military, whose
involvement in these activities is an opportunity for social reintegration and
for regaining self-confidence, the Romanian Defence Ministry says. For Romanian
troops, this year’s Invictus participation is the third, after the ones in Toronto,
in 2017, and Sydney, one year later.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Ministry celebrates 25 years
since the Joint Statement on the Romania-Italy Strategic Partnership was
signed. The genuine friendship between the 2 countries is facilitated by the
presence of over 1 million Romanians in Italy, making up the largest foreign
community in that country and also the largest Romanian community abroad, reads
a news release issued by the institution.

NORTH KOREA North Korea announced
the successful test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at
boosting the country’s nuclear capabilities, which may indicate that Pyongyang
is ready to resume nuclear testing. North Korea suspended nuclear testing in 2017,
and the following year it blew up the tunnels in its underground nuclear test
site, but recent satellite imagery indicates digging and construction
activities have been resumed.(AMP)

17 April 2022
Historian Constantin Kiritescu

The First World War also known as the
Great War was a period in time when the world decided to get rid of
frustrations in the most violent way. According to historians, roughly 10
million people were killed in action during the four years of armed conflict. A
lot was written about those years to depict the gruesome realities of war and a
many inspired authors produced genuine literary gems, such as Camil Petrescu’s
‘The last night of Love, the First of War’ or the orthopedic doctor Ion
Ghilamila’s research ‘The Work of Providing Assistance and Re-education to
Romania’s Disabled Veterans’. The most successful history book though was ‘A History
of the War for Greater Romania 1916-1919’, which was largely employed by all those
who wrote about the Great War.

A
surprising detail about Kiritescu and his history book is the fact that the
author wasn’t actually a historian. He was born on September 3rd
1876 in Bucharest, where he also died on august 12th 1965 at the age
of 88. During his life, Kiritescu witnessed two major changes in people’s
outlook over the world, in 1918 and 1945. He was born and educated in a Romania
built by its first monarch, Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in the second
half of the 19th century. He witnessed the birth of Greater Romania
under its second king, Ferdinand I in 1918. And also saw the collapse of
democracy under the communist regime backed by the Soviet Union after 1945.
Kirițescu was a zoologist with a PhD in natural science and teacher at the
famous high-school in Bucharest Sfântu Sava.

He
was the man who paved the way for the study of serpents and reptiles in Romania.
He wrote a volume on ‘Research over Romania’s Herpethological Fauna and discovered
an unknown species by that time, a serpent called Eryx jaculus or the javelin
sand boa, which lives around the city of Cernavoda on the banks of the Danube
river. He also discovered the Danube newt (Triturus
dobrogicus), which lives in Dobruja, south-eastern Romania. With a great
passion for history as a publicist, he wrote the portrait of several people and
places. He got involved with the country’s education system and represented
Romania at the Nations League, the ancestor of the present-day UNO.

A
History of the War for Greater Romania 1916-1919 the book that made Constantin
Kiritescu famous was published three times. The first edition was published in
1922 and 1923 shortly after the war, and the second between 1925-1927. The
latest edition was printed in the year when communism collapsed in Romania, 1989.

The teacher and economist Costin
Kirițescu was interviewed by Radio Romania in 1994 and he recollected the
success his father’s book enjoyed.

Costin Kiritescu: The book first
appeared in two volumes, but they needed a third edition and the book got
revised, enlarged, updated and that time had three volumes. That proved the
perseverance of the author, who didn’t even go to war as he was disabled and
exempted from conscription. But with the connections he had and the huge amount
of reading that he had done, he managed to write this book, which is seemingly
a reference one.

The
third edition appeared in 1989, the last year of the communist regime in
Romania, when censorship was very tough. Here is Costin Kirițescu at the
microphone again.

Costin Kiritescu: I was working with
the Finance Ministry and a person from the Central Committee of the Romanian
Communist Party who wanted to know if it was possible to have a third edition
of the aforementioned book contacted me. Of course I said yes, and that was the
beginning of a real tragicomedy. Because after the dictator’s wife, Elena
Ceausescu had learnt about this project of reediting the book, she called in the
secretary in charge of the project and hit him in the head with the ink bottle.
After a series of delays and postponements, for one reason or another, the
third edition of this book appeared in the autumn of 1989. The third edition was
completed and commented upon by my father. I was asked to remove a couple of
words, which I wrote and somehow offended the communist party. That was all.

Constantin Kirițescu was a
teacher of zoology with a great passion for history who gave us one of the most
successful history books in Romania’s historiography.

(bill)

16 April 2022
The economic effects of the Ukraine crisis

The
economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are already being felt in
Romania, which, like other countries, is struggling with high
inflation, a rise in fuels costs, higher prices for products, and the
situation of thousands of Romanian employees of businesses affected
by the sanctions against Russia. In an attempt to counteract the
effects of the war on the Romanian economy, prime minister Nicolae
Ciucă on Thursday had talks with representatives of the private
sector, including representatives of the Concordia employers’
association, which accounts for over a quarter of the country’s
GDP. The purpose of the talks was to find new solutions to support
the business community.

We
want to support the entire economic ensemble because it is important
for the budget and especially for jobs, said Ciucă, adding we
have large sums allocated for investments and there are European
funding programmes available to support the economic sector. We are
approaching in an integrated way the resources of tens of billions of
euros that are available to us. The support given to the business
sector is for the Romanian citizens and this is our priority.

In
the context of the war in Ukraine and given Romania’s intention to
become independent from gas imports from Russia, Ciucă reminded
business people that there
are
modernisation funds available
that give
them the possibility to develop the technology for renewable energy.
He also presented the government’s efforts to finalise the gas
interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria, which can contribute to
supplementing Romania’s access to natural gas. Another direction
pursued by the government is to come up with legislation to increase
Romania’s processing capacity in all economic sectors, said Ciucă.

The
representatives of big supermarket chains said their stocks are
sufficient to ensure supply down to the end-consumer, but asked that
the purchasing power be maintained. Also on Thursday, the prime
minister received assurances from farmers and producers of
seeds and sun-flower oil in Romania that there are enough stocks for
the population, including in the event of growing demand. Romania can
play an important role within the European Union to compensate for
the loss of imports from Ukraine, and thus contribute to the food
safety of the Union and of third countries struggling with the
consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the prime
minister emphasised. (CM)

8 April 2022
International aid for Moldova

Until December 2020, the ex-Soviet Republic
of Moldova, led by pro-Russian officials, was constantly in Moscow’s tow. Pro-European
voices were however present, as confirmed by the country’s signing in 2014 an
association agreement with the European Union, providing for cooperation in areas
like trade and culture.

But Moldova categorically broke with Russia less than 2 years ago, with
the election of the pro-European Maia Sandu as head of state, replacing the
pro-Russian Igor Dodon.

Geographically, Moldova stands between the eastern part of the EU (neighbouring
Romania) and Ukraine, with some of its territory occupied by Transnistria, a
small self-proclaimed breakaway republic backed by Moscow.

Quite a few political and military analysts voiced concerns that in the
context of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia might take advantage of its military
presence in Transnistria to launch an offensive in that region as well. Fortunately,
at least for the time being, this is only a hypothetical plan.

Nonetheless, with millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war, the Republic
of Moldova is receiving the largest number of refugees per capita in Europe,
which puts tremendous pressure on Europe’s poorest state.

Under these circumstances, Germany, France and Romania Tuesday
co-chaired an international conference in Berlin, aimed at putting together a
support platform for that country. Around 50 delegations took part,
representing international organisations and some 30 states, including EU
members, the US, Canada and Japan.

Donors pledged with over EUR 695 million in aid for Moldova, 100 million
of which will be non-reimbursable financial assistance. They also agreed to
take over nearly 12,000 of the almost 100,000 Ukrainian refugees currently in
that country.

Our message is clear: the Republic of Moldova is not alone, said Germany’s
foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, alongside her French and Romanian
counterparts, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Bogdan Aurescu, talking to the Moldovan PM
Natalia Gavriliţa.

According to the German official, this assistance will be the start of a
sustainable support platform, with further aid to follow in areas like
diversifying energy sources, border management and political reform. All of
these are designed to help Moldova ease out its dependence on Moscow.

Moldova is the most vulnerable among Ukraine’s neighbours, Natalia
Gavriliţa said, and added that her country has no security umbrella to rely on
and therefore it needs good friends and reliable partners.

The next donor conference for Moldova may be hosted by Bucharest. (A.M.P)

6 April 2022
April 4, 2022 UPDATE

ADDRESS – Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday evening addressed, by video call, the plenary sitting of Romanias Parliament. He called on the Romanian MPs to close down ports for Russian ships, ban commercial transport to and from Russia, suspend imports of Russian energy and impose new sanctions on that country. Images of the massacre in Bucha were screened in the Parliament hall and, before Zelensky’s address, Romanian deputies and senators held a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Zelensky also mentioned in his address the fight of the Romanian people against communism and against dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. He ended his address by thanking Romania for the support it granted to the Ukrainian refugees.

UKRAINE – Ukrainian authorities are investigating possible war crimes committed by Russia after hundreds of civilian bodies, some of them tied and shot at close range were found in the towns around the capital Kyiv. The corpses were found after Russian troops had withdrawn to prepare attacks on other parts of Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images as a “punch in the stomach” while the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called for an independent investigation into the killing of civilians. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has accused members of the Russian army of war crimes in Ukraine and has said they must be brought to justice together with president Putin. The American official visited on Monday the refugee centre in Bucharest’s Gara de Nord train station and talked with the volunteers. She thanked all Romanians for their generosity towards the Ukrainian refugees. Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences of their actions, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in turn, adding that the western allies will decide on fresh sanctions in the upcoming days. Japan has announced it will also discuss with the allies about new sanctions on Russia.

REACTIONS – Images from Bucha and other Ukrainian cities must remind the whole world that this illegal aggression must be stopped and those found responsible must pay, said Romanian president Klaus Iohannis in response to what Ukraine described as war crimes committed by the Russian military in towns around the capital Kyiv. Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciuca and foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu also called for these crimes to be brought before the international justice system. Ukrainian authorities said hundreds of civilian bodies were recovered and that almost 300 people had been buried in mass graves in Bucha. They accused the Russian army of committing a massacre. Russia denied the accusations saying the images are fake.

TALKS – Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said Monday that the massacre in Bucha was Russia’s responsibility as the war crime happened during the Russian occupation of that area. The statements were made during debates staged by the think thank New Strategy Centre, attended by the Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets, who travelled to Bucharest at Aurescus invitation. “We must do everything we can to stop this illegal war against Ukraine. And we must do everything we can to bring to justice all those responsible for this massacre”, Aurescu also said. He pleaded for fresh sanctions against Russia and for the consolidation of NATO’s eastern flank. The two ministers are attending a conference to discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine and how to build a more resilient NATO eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Talks also are looking at ways to further develop bilateral ties, in particular economic and sectoral cooperation and to expand cooperation within regional alliances the two states are both part of, such as the Three Seas Initiatives and the Bucharest Nine. The two officials are also expected to inaugurate an exhibition to celebrate the 100 years of bilateral relations between Romania and Estonia. In turn, the Estonian official said Russia must be further isolated politically and economically, adding that it is important for the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations to be held without military pressure. Eva-Maria Liimets also said that there is no more trust in Russia so NATO’s security, deterrence and defence posture has to be further consolidated.

SERBIA – Presidential and legislative elections were held on Sunday in Serbia and the counting of 93% of the ballots showed that president Aleksandar Vucic and his populist party scored a landslide victory with the backing of around 60% of the voters. This means no runoff is needed. Vucic is seen as the closest ally of Russia and China in the Western Balkans in spite of the fact that officially his country has European aspirations. His main contender, Zlatko Ponos, won 17% of the votes. (EE)

4 April 2022
March 31, 2022 UPDATE

TALKS Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca held talks in
Bucharest with the EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit.
The two officials have discussed the EU response to the crisis caused by the
Russian military aggression in Ukraine. The head of the Romanian executive has
presented Romania’s strategy for ensuring the country’s energy independence by
using nuclear energy, building green energy plants and by exploiting the new
offshore gas deposits. Commissioner Schmit has underlined the effective efforts
of the Romanian authorities to receive over half a million Ukrainian refugees
and has voiced the European Commission’s support for the member states enabling
them to quickly access the funds that are already at the disposal of the member
states and are to be supplemented.

AID Romania is ready to lay at
the disposal of Ukraine the infrastructure in the port of Constanta, so that the
country may be able to carry on its exports of cereals, as its ports have been
blocked by the Russian invasion. The statement has been made by Romania’s
Defence Minister Vasile Dincu, who has also added that talks in this respect
are underway. The Romanian official has underlined the move represents an
opportunity for Ukraine to fund its survival. Dincu has also mentioned that
Romania may also benefit from the move though the country has no issues in this
respect because it is an exporter of cereals. In another development political
sources in Bucharest have announced that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
will be addressing the Romanian Parliament on Monday night. Over 86 hundred
Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Wednesday night slightly exceeding the
number of refugees who came to Romania on Tuesday. 600 thousand Ukrainian
nationals have arrived in Romania since the beginning of the invasion. Most of
them only transited the country towards Western Europe.

UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in Romania stood at 5.7% in
February, while youth unemployment remains high, tantamount to 22%, according
to the latest figures published by the National Statistics Institute today.
Male unemployment is slightly higher than female unemployment, standing at 6.1%
and 5.1% respectively. The total number of unemployed stood at 468 thousand in
February. The rate of unemployment for people aged 25-74 stood at 4.6% in
February, accounting for 76.6% of the total population.

WAR The
Ukrainian army is bracing up for a new wave of Russian attacks, Ukrainian
president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. Russian offensives are expected
in eastern Ukraine after they have failed to advance towards capital Kyiv, as
initially intended. Ukraine has noticed a Russian military buildup in Donbas,
Zelensky also says. According to Reuters, in five weeks since they started invasion,
the Russian troops haven’t captured any major city in Ukraine in spite of the sustained
attacks and heavy artillery fire. Furthermore, the Russians have also suffered
heavy losses in military personnel and gear. NATO does not believe Russia’s
pledges to reduce military operations around Kyiv and in the north of the
country. Its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, believes that Russian troops
aren’t withdrawing but repositioning and the alliance is expecting more Russian
attacks. The NATO official has underlined the allies will continue to support
Ukraine, including with military supplies as long as it is needed. The Russian
invasion has forced the displacement of nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population
and four million have already left the country. Russian president Vladimir
Putin has signed a decree under which as of April 1st the countries that Moscow
deems as unfriendly are to set up a special account to transfer their payments,
which will be further exchanged into rubles. European leaders have rejected paying
for deliveries in rubles as the contracts stipulate payment in Euros and
sometimes in dollars. Russia is presently supplying about a third of Europe’s
gas.

(bill)

31 March 2022
March 29, 2022

ECONOMY PM Nicolae Ciucă has a meeting in Bucharest today with the EU
Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni. The Romanian official said the
topics approached will include the temporary emergency measures taken recently
by the European Commission and used by the Romanian authorities since the start
of the conflict in Ukraine. Yesterday Paolo Gentiloni discussed with the
finance minister Adrian Câciu the refugee issue as well as the economic
decisions to be made in the event of shocks in supply chains. The EU
Commissioner said the Union is discussing ways to curb inflation and address the
economic consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. There are currently no risks
to food safety in Europe, Paolo Gentiloni also said yesterday. On Monday he was
also received by president Klaus Iohannis, who pleaded for flexibility with
respect to the financial resources earmarked for 2014-2020 and not yet spent, allowing
the money to be used for handling the Ukrainian refugee situation.

UKRAINE A new round of peace talks takes place today and tomorrow in Istanbul,
after several rounds held in Belarus and online. Kyiv says its goals in the
negotiations include the pullout of Russian troops from Ukraine and security
guarantees. In turn, Moscow wants Ukraine to give up its NATO accession plan,
to recognise the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and the
incorporation of Crimea by Russia. In the field, Russian troops continue to
shell the areas around the capital Kyiv, but Ukrainian forces withstand the
attacks. The heaviest bombings were reported near Irpin, north-west of the
capital, where Ukrainians say they have full control. The port city of
Mariupol, in the south, is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster and must be
fully evacuated, said mayor Vadym Boychenko. According to him, nearly 160,000 civilians are stranded
in the city without water, food, medicines and electricity. The Red Cross has
already requested Russia and Ukraine to secure a
humanitarian corridor.

REFUGEES EU interior ministers Monday approved a plan for better coordination with respect to
Ukrainian war refugees. The EU Commissioner for home
affairs, Ylva Johansson, has announced that so far 3.8 million people,
especially women, children and elderly people, have fled Ukraine. Member states
requested additional funding from the Commission to manage the inflows, with
the Commission announcing additional aid is already being prepared. EU interior
ministers also agreed to launch a EU-wide platform for the registration of
refugees arriving in the Union and applying for temporary protection. They also
put together unified rules for receiving and supporting children, including
unaccompanied minors, and a plan against human trafficking. In this context,
Romania continues to support Ukrainian refugees and the authorities in that
country. Since the start of the war, over 570,000 Ukrainian nationals have
entered Romania. Most of them only transited the country, while around 4,300 applied for asylum in Romania.

COVID-19 Over 4,000 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed for
the past 24 hours in Romania, the authorities announced on Tuesday, almost
double the previous day’s figure. Little over 2,700 patients are being treated
in hospitals for Covid, of whom 400 in intensive care. The authorities also
announced 45 fatalities, one of which from a previous date. The health minister
Alexandru Rafila said COVID-19 hospitals will gradually resume their regular
operations by the end of September.

FOOTBALL
Romania’s national football team plays against Israel today, away from home, in
a friendly match. This is the second test match played by the national squad
under the management of Edward Iordanescu. In his first game as a coach, the
team lost against Greece, 1-0 in Bucharest on Friday. (A.M.P.)

29 March 2022